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Old Nov 18, 2012 | 08:56 AM
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Default purchased 74

Good day

Well from my other thread I ended up passing on the 75 as he went up in price on me so after some seaching, good or bad this is the beast same price he went to 4K

L48 with a manual trans 90 000 miles.

She had receipts for a lot of work in 98 to 2010 the highlights are

Frame reconditioned, looks like they did some upper frame work, trailing arms, some suspension work, some body mount work, calipers, brakes, new fuel tank and lines, and cleaned it up and coated. Does not appear to have had the body removed. It does look in decent shape.

Did the outter body, seals, and paint as well, and rebuilt the motor and clutch.

10 000 miles since the work.

In 2010 did the interior, could use a few spots in the rear cleaned up.

Now the bad.

The front and rear bumper covers have crumbled, I have bever seen them become so brittle so I have to replace.

Needs a headlight actuator replaced or rebuilt.

The fuel tank vent is disconnected and hanging at the back so i have to figure out how to get it back to the canister I hope the lines are there.

Any ideas?

Here are a few pictures if they work.











So now the work begins.

Mat
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Old Nov 18, 2012 | 09:08 AM
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Yeah. The bumper covers deteriorate dramatically over time. On my '74, I finally decided to change the covers when a piece fell off the rear on my street one day. A small neighborhood boy graciously returned it to me.
Maybe when your rear bumper is off, it will be easier to access the gas tank vent hose and separator. It can be reached through the deck vent on a convertible (with much contortions and cursing), but I don't know about a coupe.

Last edited by gcusmano74; Nov 18, 2012 at 09:14 AM.
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Old Nov 18, 2012 | 09:16 AM
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Any thoughts on these flex glass covers they sell, will they take any impact at all?

Need to order some in the near future.
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Old Nov 18, 2012 | 10:49 AM
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years ago (20) i put on an ecklers fiberglass rear on my 74...no sanding great fit, dont know about the fit now...nice 74 you picked up, minor work for you...
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Old Nov 18, 2012 | 11:01 AM
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Originally Posted by carcraze
Any thoughts on these flex glass covers they sell, will they take any impact at all?

Need to order some in the near future.
You'll get many opinions on the bumper covers, as each have the pros/cons... Depends on what you want and your budget... Urethane (OEM) cost the most and "generally" fit the best, but will deteriorate over a several of decades... Flex fit and true Fiberglass usually take more TLC to get them to fit, cost a little less, and it could be messy in a slow speed accident as they don't "give" like the urethane...

The overflow for the fuel tank in the rear is how it came from the factory... Looks like you may just need a plastic tie strap or two, and a new rear bumper cover to fix... The actual tank vent comes out of the upper left side of the tank and as is the case in my '73, runs all the way up to the engine compartment to a charcoal canister...

You probably also need to pickup an Assembly Manual (AIM) and possibly a Shop Manual for your '74... These detail how everything went together at the factory, and show how basic Mx was accomplished... The AIM is essential IMHO...

Good little project, congrats on your '74...

Rogman

Last edited by rogman16; Nov 18, 2012 at 11:04 AM.
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Old Nov 18, 2012 | 11:07 AM
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Looks like you made a pretty decent puchase if all that work has been done.
Not at all uncommon on the bumpers if they are originals. Here is the '75 I just bought with the same issues :
http://imgur.com/a/onAJ4
Get the Tru-Flex bumpers and you'll have the best overall luck.
Are you sure that the line dangling in the back is a vent line? Hard to see it good in the pic, but could it possibly be that someone routed the overflow line from the gas cap/lid area around the back?

Doh! Rogman beat me to it on the overflow line(faster typist?) but on my '75 the line goes out towards the front of the car, not the back.

Last edited by MidShark; Nov 18, 2012 at 11:13 AM.
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Old Nov 18, 2012 | 01:58 PM
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Thanks for the comments.

That is a nice 75, a shame the bumpers go like that.

I will have a look around the tank, I have trouble believeing the shops she had all the work done at would not have ran the canister line so I am assuming it is the overflow.

I have it going in for a safety end of next week as they said the bumper covers are fine and all looks good but the W washer. It came with a piece of crap Haynes manual but it does not even show which wires are for the washer.

Any idea which are the feed as I figure I would start there?

Thanks for the help.

Mat
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Old Nov 18, 2012 | 02:38 PM
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It looks like you got a wonderful deal on a car. Not having to do the trailing arms is worth more than you know. My 74 needed bumpers too and I went with Truflex. I do not care if it is original but wanted it to look stock to most people. I, personally, am not a fan of the split rear bumper look.

Is your goal to replace the bumpers without painting the rest of the car? Or, are you going to paint the rest of the car to blend and match the color and do any other possible body work?

Here is my pitch for truflex bumpers. First, I am not a professional or a perfectionist. However, these bumpers can be blended and fit to your car. I am not saying these are perfect lines or fit. I am just showing you what can be done by a layman.



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Old Nov 18, 2012 | 03:53 PM
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I was going to go to the flex glass ones.

My intent since the car was painted when the rest was done I was going to have the bumpers done only. The body guy said he could blend it if he clears coat more than just the bumpers.

Mat
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Old Nov 18, 2012 | 09:16 PM
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Carcraze - looks like the big ticket repairs are taken care of. I went with the OEM urethane bumper cover on my 73 - easier to install - but far more expensive than the flex product. If doing the work yourself it may be worth going with the flex - but it will take a lot of sanding and fitment adjustments to get the seams perfect. I look forward to seeing progress photos of your project. Good luck and have fun!
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Old Nov 19, 2012 | 02:27 AM
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"Welcome" carcraze
to the wonderful world of the '74.

Just remember when purchasing parts....
make sure they are for a '74.
Some other year parts won't fit.
Our cars are special .


Gav
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Old Nov 19, 2012 | 10:54 AM
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Congrats on your dark brown 74'! I've got one too and the PO had put a late C3 tail on it, with the flip tail and I like it. Also they installed a black fiberglass nose as well.

I've got the L48 with a manual trans as well. These are fun cars to drive! And for God's sake, keep it the original color, because you'll see a million red 'Vettes (hell, I own one, a Torch Red 95' C4), but you sure won't see the Dark Brown very often and it sure looks good in the sun, with that warm metallic gleam running down the sides.

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Old Nov 19, 2012 | 12:10 PM
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I was wondering about the brown as I am not a big fan but it looks nice that way.

Apparantly when she had the body done they used the 75 paint code as it was a nicer brown?

Does anyone know when installing the covers if there is a isolator btween where the cover bolts on or does it just bolt up to the other body panel?

Also better to paint before or after install, I assume after to mate it up right?

Mat
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Old Nov 19, 2012 | 12:29 PM
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Originally Posted by carcraze
I was wondering about the brown as I am not a big fan but it looks nice that way.

Apparantly when she had the body done they used the 75 paint code as it was a nicer brown?

Does anyone know when installing the covers if there is a isolator btween where the cover bolts on or does it just bolt up to the other body panel?

Also better to paint before or after install, I assume after to mate it up right?

Mat

Paint is always the last thing you do. You'd be amazed at how much incidental damage that can be inflicted on a vehicle in progress, even if you're super careful.

The 75' is actually a slightly different color. More 'bronzish' than brown if I'm not mistaken.


This is mine on the trailer. Note the late C3 tail. Some people like the stock 'slope' tail, but I like the little flip spoiler!
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Old Nov 19, 2012 | 01:02 PM
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She had said it was the 75 paint code when I picked it up, but yours sure does look the same color, hard to tell in pics.

I know it looks nice in the sun.
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Old Nov 19, 2012 | 01:11 PM
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Originally Posted by carcraze
She had said it was the 75 paint code when I picked it up, but yours sure does look the same color, hard to tell in pics.

I know it looks nice in the sun.
I know, I just did the same thing and yours looks very, very much like the same color. The 75' is decidedly different! Who knows, she might be wrong or they actually painted it in the 74' Dark Brown!
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Old Nov 19, 2012 | 07:39 PM
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WOW Coincidence after coinicidence.Had a brown 1975 in just that colour now I have a white 1974 just put new bumpers front and back.Looks awesome used truflex I am told back matched perfectly front was a pain though.At the factory apparently the front was installed and the fenders aligned and this is why...at least thats what I was told.The body shop I used in Toronto specializes in corvettes and he recomended the truflex and I am very happy with the results if not a littel lighter in the wallet.
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Old Nov 19, 2012 | 07:40 PM
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Sorry forgot to add I used thr rear bumper with the fake 74 stlye split in the middle
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Old Nov 19, 2012 | 10:23 PM
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Go Team 74!
When we were discussing colors for mine, I could have gone white (as per trim tag) yellow (my son's favorite), mille miglia red (for resale value, and my daughter's favorite), or brown (my wife's favorite). But since the car came with new medium saddle door panels and seat covers, instead of the silver vinyl it left the factory with, that ruled white out. But that brown was very tempting! As you can see, ended up going with red. Resale red!
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Old Nov 20, 2012 | 06:57 PM
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74 rules lol
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